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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Lights Go Out Issue 9

I was all ready to write a review about how I wish there were music zines that weren’t about punk/hardcore, but then I actually sat down and read this issue of Lights Go Out. Yeah, there are the usual tour diaries and interviews with punk bands, but this zine also includes some non-punk content that’s quite interesting.

The first is an interview with Thousand Yard Stare, an indie rock band who seemed to be on the cusp of hitting the big time in the early ‘90s. Four of the band members were tracked down and interviewed independently, each giving accounts of their time in the band, and what they’ve ended up doing since then.

The other piece is a series of interviews with Girls@Play, a manufactured pop group from the early 2000s. This was not what I expected from a punk zine! Again the interviews ask about their time in the group, and what they’ve been up to since then.

I hadn’t heard of either of these bands before, but both of these pieces were interesting reading, especially as companion pieces. Neither group ever got really big, and they came into the music industry from very different directions, but it’s interesting to compare and contrast their experiences, some of which are quite similar.

The only real problem with the interviews is that they were clearly done over email, and the answers can get a bit repetitive. Still, overall they’re good pieces and must reads if you liked either group.

There are also a bunch of opinion columns (some good, some bad), a show review section done partially in haikus, and a music review section that covers everything from thrash/hardcore bands to Kylie Minogue to Tegan and Sara. Sadly neither of the latter two reviews featured lines like “It blasts right into your head and refuses to let go like a vicious little dog attaching itself to your nutsack and biting for all it’s might.”, though that would be pretty amazing to see printed on the front of a Kylie record.

Oh dang, apparently they reviewed one of my zines in issue 10. I'll have to give them bonus points for that, even if I have no idea if they even liked it or not.

With more than forty pages of content in tiny typefaces, it’ll take you quite a while to read everything in this zine, which definitely makes it value for money. I'd still love to read a zine about hiphop or electronic music though, any suggestions?

I only include website, email, and PO Box addresses. I'm not comfortable printing what could be people's home addresses on the internet. If you want your address included with the review of your zine let me know.